PLAYER NOTES
Shyla Brown, 17, of McKinney, Texas, reached the Round of 16 in the 2024 U.S. Girls’ Junior. She also recorded fourth place finishes at the 2024 K.J. Choi Foundation Texas Junior Championship, Texas Women's Stroke Play Championship and Southwest Airlines Showcase at Cedar Crest. In 2023, she earned a spot on the AJGA All-Star Team and is currently in her second year with the U.S. National Junior Team.
Charlotte Cantonis, 18, of Tampa, Fla., will be competing in her fourth USGA championship. She owns multiple top 10 finishes in 2025 including a T5 in the Florida Women’s Amateur Championship, and she reached the Round of 32 alongside partner Amelie Zalsman in the 2025 Women’s Amateur Four-Ball. In 2024, the University of Auburn signee advanced to match play in the U.S. Girls’ Junior at El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana, Calif., falling short on the 20th hole in the Round of 64. Cantonis made her USGA match play debut in 2023 when she advanced to the Round of 32 in the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif. This year, Cantonis has recorded multiple top-10 finishes, including fifth at the Florida Women’s Amateur Championship.
Mia Clausen, 14, of Carlsbad, Calif., is a rising high school sophomore. Her 2025 season features a win at the Golf Performance Academy Junior Championship and a tie for fourth at the Callaway Junior at Canebrake Club. In 2024, Clausen recorded back-to-back victories at the Nike Junior Invitational and PGA West Junior Championship. This will be Clausen’s second appearance in the U.S. Girls’ Junior, having debuted two years ago at Eisenhower Golf Club in Colorado Springs, Colo., as a 12-year-old and the youngest competitor in that year’s field.
Kaya Daluwatte, 16, of Sri Lanka, is the top-ranked female golfer in her home country. Daluwatte has seen success internationally, including a victory in the 2024 Nepal Amateur Open, a 20th-place finish at The 2024 R&A Junior Open, a tie for fifth in the 2024 Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation Junior Championship, a fourth-place finish in the All India Ladies Amateur and multiple victories in the Sri Lanka Junior Open Championship. This will be Daluwatte’s first USGA championship.
Iris Lee, 12, of Orlando, Fla., will make her USGA debut and is the second-youngest player in the field, one of two competitors yet to reach their 13th birthday. During her inaugural season on the AJGA circuit, Lee recorded third place finishes at the TaylorMade TP5 Junior All-Star and Moon Golf Junior at Sandridge, while producing a victory in the AJGA Junior All-Star presented by Visit Tallahassee. On the Florida Junior Tour, Lee won the 2024 FJT PGA National as an 11-year-old.
Nikki Oh, 17, of Torrance, Calif., a member of the U.S. National Junior Team, is the daughter of 1993 U.S. Open qualifier (at 16 years of age) and current teaching pro Ted Oh. Nikki owns four top 10s in 2025, highlighted by a third-place finish at the Fortinet Girls Invitational at Stanford. In 2024, she tied fifth at the Rolex Tournament of Champions, third at the PING Invitational, sixth at the World Junior Girls Championship, fifth at the Toyota Junior World Cup and 11th at the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley. She was named a first team AJGA Rolex Junior All-American. In 2023, she advanced to the Round of 16 of the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bel-Air C.C. in Los Angeles. Her father, Ted, has worked with former world No. 1 and LPGA major champion Lydia Ko. She plans to attend Stanford University in 2026.
Madison Messimer, 18, of Myrtle Beach, S.C., claimed the 2021 and 2022 Women’s South Carolina Golf Association state titles, running away with the event by 21 strokes in 2022. She also won the 2022 Carolinas Golf Association Women’s Amateur and is a two-time Class 4A state high school individual champion. Last year, she advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Girls’ Junior, finished fourth at the Girls’ Junior PGA Championship and was named a second-team AJGA Rolex All-American. The 18-year-old was also a member of the victorious USA side at the PING Junior Solheim Cup held in Virginia. She will be attending the University of Tennessee in the fall.
Alexandra Phung, 14, of Forest Hills, N.Y., is a four-time Drive, Chip and Putt National Finalist and two-time champion, having secured victories at Augusta National Golf Club in the Girls 10-11 division in 2023 and 12-13 division in 2025. This year, Phung also owns a tie for fifth at the AJGA Panama Junior, a tie for second at the AJGA Junior All-Star at College Station and a tie for sixth at the Pete & Alice Dye Junior Invitational. She won her first AJGA event in 2024, triumphing in a one-hole playoff at the AJGA Junior All-Star at Meadowbrook. Her 17-year-old sister, Amelie, is also in the field ans a past DCP finalist.
Constanze Quiroga Hinojosa, 18, of Bolivia, owns 12 wins in WAGR-sanctioned eventsand 22 top-10 finishes from events played in her home country. She has competed in two Women’s Amateur Latin Americas, with her best finish coming in 2023 when she finished tied for 40th. She will play for Troy University in Alabama this fall.
Victoria Richani, 17, of Lebanon, will become the first player representing Lebanon to compete in the U.S. Girls’ Junior after shooting 69 at Alta Mesa Golf Club in Mesa, Ariz. Richani won the 2024 FCG Cabo Junior Open in Mexico City and competes on the Southern California Junior Tour, earning Player of the Year honors in 2022.
Scarlett Schremmer, 18, of Birmingham, Ala., reached the Round of 16 in last year’s U.S. Girls’ Junior and U.S. Women’s Amateur. She also finished fourth individually at the World Junior Girls Championship in Canada and was runner-up in the Rolex Tournament of Champions. Schremmer is signed to play with Texas A&M this fall and is currently in her second year with the U.S. National Junior Team. She represented the USA in its victory at the Junior Solheim Cup in Virginia, and her mother, Patricia Ehrhart, has competed in a number of USGA championships, including each of the last two U.S. Senior Women’s Opens, in which she was the low amateur in 2022. Schremmer switched to golf after being a competitive surfer when her family lived in Hawaii.
Bella Simoes, 11, of Lake Worth, Fla., is the youngest competitor in the field. Two years ago, she became the youngest player ever to attempt to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open, and she won four consecutive age-group titles at the IMG Junior World Championships from 2020-23. Simoes was named the 2022 Under Armour Tour and South Florida PGA Player of the Year.
Asterisk Talley, 16, of Chowchilla, Calif., reached the championship match of both the 2024 U.S. Girls’ Junior and 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur last summer after winning the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball alongside Sarah Lim, becoming the first player in USGA history to reach three finals in the same year. Talley was runner-up to Carla Bernat Escuder, of Spain, in the 2025 Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April and made her second U.S. Women’s Open Championship appearance a month later at Erin Hills, shooting 71-75 to miss the cut by one. In 2024, she was the youngest competitor in the field at Lancaster (Pa.) Country Club, at 15 years, 105 days, where she shared low-amateur honors In the 2024 Curtis Cup Match at Sunningdale Golf Club, in England, Talley would also earn a statement singles match victory over world No.1 Lottie Woad.
Alli Wiertel, 16, of Oswego, Ill., is making her second USGA appearance. Her debut came in the 2025 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball earlier this summer with her father Jason on the bag – a job Wiertel’s father is familiar with as a caddie for PGA Tour professional Luke Clanton, who was the No. 1-ranked amateur in the world before turning pro in June. Wiertel owns three top 20 finishes on the AGJA in 2025, featuring a T5 at the 98th Women's Western Junior Championship at Maketewah Country Club in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Natalie Yen, 18, of West Linn, Ore., and her partner, Asia Young, were the winning duo at the 2025 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball. Yen had an impressive 2024 season that featured wins at the Hilton Grand Vacations ANNIKA Invitational presented by Rolex and the California Women’s Championship. She also finished fourth at the PING Invitational, third at the Rolex Tournament of Champions and represented the USA in the Junior Solheim Cup. This will be Yen’s third U.S. Girls’ Junior, with her best finish coming in 2023 when she advanced to the Round of 16, losing to eventual champion Kiara Romero. Yen has signed to play for Texas A&M University this fall.
Asia Young, 16, of Bend, Ore., and her fellow Oregon native, Natalie Yen, were the victorious pair at the 2025 Women’s Amateur Four-Ball. During the 2025 season, Young has already tallied wins at the Callaway Junior at Canebrake Club and the Arizona Silver Belle Championship. Last year, Young was the runner-up in the AJGA Junior at Canebrake Club and finished 10th at the Nike Junior Invitational. This will be her second U.S. Girls’ Junior.
Amelie Zalsman, 16, of St. Petersburg, Fla., a member of the U.S. National Junior Team, has racked up four consecutive top-five finishes, including her most recent victory in the Rolex Girls Junior Championship. Zalsman’s 2024 season featured wins at both the AJGA Junior Championship presented by Visit Tallahassee and the Rolex Tournament of Champions, a trip to the quarterfinals in the Florida Women’s Amateur and qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Open Presented by Ally. She was named a second-team AJGA All-American. Zalsman will be competing in her fifth USGA championship and third U.S. Girls’ Junior. She advanced to the Round of 32 last year at El Caballero C.C. Zalsman has already qualified for next month’s U.S. Women’s Amateur after firing a 4-under 68 at the Old Fort Golf Club qualifier in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
